NASCAR Racing Series Goes Up For Sale, Buyer Beware Rules Are Included
Don’t look any further from the title, because from the impression of NASCAR’s current situation, these few words are only a figment of what most fans could only dream would happen.
Wishful thinking could be another way of putting into perspective where the sport is headed today, if indeed there is trouble on the horizon with all the speculating that’s been crowding the various NASCAR social sites.
The latest word on the street is that NASCAR is headed down a road of destruction, and it won’t be long before the sport quickly disappears into its own self-made black hole.
Of course, none of this news is coming from the big man himself; instead, most of it gets started around these highly sophisticated tailgate parties, where the fans congregate to see who can conjure up the best destructive scenarios.
For those fans who really feel the need to challenge themselves, try visiting one of the hundreds of NASCAR social sites which can be found on the Internet.
There you will find every rule or regulation that NASCAR has ever implemented, along with the current state of the sport broken down to the root while being argued with the basis being, “Because I said so, and I have been a fan for x amount of years.”
Now given the fact throughout the years, NASCAR just like any other sport is and always will be debated amongst its fans, try naming one person, or a group of people who could do a better job at managing one of motorsports’ biggest organizations?
The reason being is because once again, the integrity of those who are running the sport has come under intense enemy fire from the fans, with most of the ammo targeting a false sense that the sport is in dire need of another rebuilding process.
One area which is being falsely attacked is the decline in viewership, along with the current rule changes that many feel are not helping to boost the ratings.
Viewership along with the fan base within the sport believe it or not, is up from where it was before NASCAR went full-time to national television in 2001.
NASCAR is still the third most popular professional sport in the United States, behind the National Football League and Major League Baseball.
What other sport comes close to averaging 70 to 80 thousand fans per event, and that’s without the other three or four million who are watching at home?
Just this past weekend, ESPN reported a 6 percent increase from last year’s night race at Bristol, which attracted 5,322,537 viewers, and this increase was from the Sprint Cup race alone.
An average of 5,841,952 viewers tuned in on Saturday, which is still above the 4.5 million average who were watching back in the 90’s when attendance jumped from 3.3 million to 6.5 million between that 10-year time span (1990-99).
It’s no big secret the sport has seen a steady decrease in the last few seasons, but not all is lost in the game of love and war when looking at the numbers from a broader perspective.
When NASCAR went to national television in 2001, the attendance at each track grew, which forced a lot of the smaller tracks to add more seating to accommodate the rapid growth of the sport.
As an example, Bristol alone added an additional 90,000 seats between 1996 and 2002 which brought their total up to 160,000 from the 71,000 they were at before the increase.
Dover also added an additional 20,000 seats between the same time period, along with Richmond, which joined in with 10,000 of their own.
So as the sport continued to grow and become more popular, so did the fans that flocked to the various race tracks to get their fill of the fastest growing sport in the Nation.
The sudden growth left even the biggest critics scratching their heads in amazement, as America fell in love with the color, the speed, and the fast-paced excitement that at one time could only be viewed from one of the cable networks who covered the series.
NASCAR reached its peak amid the 2004-06 seasons, even though the fans began to complain about some of the rule changes, with the biggest one being the institution of the Chase format.
Between the 2007 and 2009 seasons, it became obvious the numbers began to taper off, and all you had to do was look at the empty stands which at one time were hard to come by.
Many of the fans began expressing their displeasure with the way the sport was being run, with much of the speculation focused on the Chase format along with the introduction of Car of Tomorrow in 2008.
No longer was NASCAR outpacing all other professional sports, and it was because the majority of the younger fans between the ages of 18-34, began looking elsewhere to get their adrenaline fix.
In the meantime, the core of older fans continued to stick next to a sport that most grew up with, and NASCAR began to once again take action in hopes of keeping them from wandering off.
“Our core fan is older, said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston.
Poston also added, “That’s a fact. Our strategy and focus the last couple of years has been to target our core fan base. If we’re making strides with that fan base, it shows that our strategy is working.”
NASCAR took it a step further by getting a fans perspective as far as what changes needed to be made to keep the sport exciting, and to bring the fans back when they created a 12,000 member online fan council.
The fan council was responsible for a series of rule changes which included the double-file restarts, multiple attempts at overtime finishes, and a return to the traditional spoiler.
NASCAR also added the Citizen Journalists Media Corps in 2009, which consists of 28 additional websites which are dedicated to providing information about NASCAR to a growing readership.
Ever since the invention of the Internet, more fans have become dependent on the various websites that provide up to the minute news and information about the sport.
The newspaper is quickly becoming obsolete around the world of sports, and NASCAR felt that a lot of the independent websites are becoming more professional with their content.
NASCAR has been taking the necessary steps to keep the fans involved in the sport, even though the economy has taken its toll on the sport as a whole.
Just like any other craze or trend, NASCAR reached its peak, and now it’s beginning to level off after going through a normal drop-off period.
When you look at the viewership numbers from 10 to 15 years ago, NASCAR is still above their average, even though the teams and the tracks look as if they to are scaling-down.
Don’t think for a second that most of the fans who no longer attend a race are not sitting at home watching on television.
The organization now has nine regional touring series, and three national series including the Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series, and its premier series, the Sprint Cup races.
NASCAR is not going to slowly disappear into the abyss known as another mismanaged business venture as many think it might.
Instead, the sport will be here longer than either you or I, and when you sit back and think about the competition it faces every single day as a family-owned organization.
It does really well at holding its own against the big multi-billion dollar sports organizations, which have many athletes under their belt.
Failure has never been part of the France family vocabulary, so why should they start now?
Has NASCAR Allowing “The Boys To Have It” Gone To Far This Season?
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch made it clear exactly what his prerogative was when he drove into the rear quarter panel of Brad Keselowski’s Penske Dodge Charger, after the Food City 250 on Saturday.
Busch, who felt retaliation was the only way of getting his point across, told the media after the race that, “So, you know, I went down into the next corner and dumped him.”
How many more incidents such as this will it take before a driver gets seriously injured, for NASCAR to step in and say enough is enough?
Earlier in the season after another such incident at Gateway International Raceway, NASCAR docked Carl Edwards 60 points, and fined him $25,000, along with placing both he and Brad Keselowski on probation for the rest of the season.
Edwards just like Busch, felt he needed to take matters into his own hands when he dumped Keselowski with the ending result a lot worse than what happened on Saturday.
Edwards stated after the race, “That’s my job, to win the race, and to make sure I don’t get walked on or get something taken away from me that’s mine; I had to do what I had to do.”
Keselowski was very fortunate his car didn’t get hit by several other drivers on Saturday, as it did back when Edwards felt the need to allow his anger to get the best of him.
I wrote this piece last season as a reminder of just how dangerous our sport really is, and even though this accident was not the fault of either driver involved.
It portrays what is reality within our sport, and sometimes the outcome is not what we expected.
Margaret Cowherd jumped up as soon as she saw the doctor come out of the emergency room. She asked the doctor with a look of sadness in her eyes, “How is my husband? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?”
The doctor responded, “I’m sorry. We did all we could, but your husband didn’t make it.”
Margaret looked to the heavens and asked, “Why do race car drivers have to die? Doesn’t God care about the sport anymore? Where were you, God, when my husband needed you?”
The doctor asked, “Would you like some time alone with your husband? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he’s transported to the mortuary.”
Margaret asked the nurse to stay with her while she said goodbye to her husband. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick hair.
“Would you like to take his driving suit home?” the nurse asked. Margaret nodded yes.
The nurse took what was left of the driving suit, put it in a plastic bag, and handed it to Margaret.
The drive home was even more difficult knowing that her husband would no longer be by her side, and that she would spend the rest of her life wondering why this had to happen to her husband, of all people.
It has been 11 years since that unforgettable night, a night that started out like any other typical Saturday night of racing at Toyota Speedway of Irwindale.
But what was about to unfold before the night was over is not only a fan’s worst nightmare, but also the families who were involved.
NASCAR racing is, and always will be, a very dangerous sport no matter what level or class is racing.
Just this season alone we have seen some of the most spectacular crashes that could have easily had the same outcome, but because modern technology took over, drivers were able to walk away.
Now, while taking the time to look at how technically advanced these specially-prepared race cars are built, it’s easy to see just how dangerous the sport really is at first glance.
From the twisted metal steel that makes up the roll cage, to the six-point racing harness, along with the carbon fiber seat that holds the driver snuggly in place.
These are just a few of the safety features that are very noticeable, along with the rest of the equipment that goes into building some of the safest race cars that are out on the track today.
The NASCAR R&D team spends countless hours testing, designing, and carefully looking for any flaws that might have been missed, while at the same time giving the drivers the comfort of knowing that no expense has been spared when it comes to their safety.
But not even all of these safety features would be enough to allow Keith Cowherd to come home to his family after what should have been a normal night of fun and excitement.
For those race fans that were in the stands, they never expected to witness the death of a driver who was only doing what he enjoyed on the weekends.
As for his family, it was a very somber moment, as well as a very emotional one, especially not knowing if their loved one would survive the horrible wreck.
The suspense was thick enough that you could cut it with a knife, as the safety team tried furiously to extract Cowherd from the mangled wreckage.
After all, short track racing on a Saturday night, or for that matter anyone of the many NASCAR touring series is meant to be fun and exciting, but there is always that element of danger that is lurking lap after lap.
And it’s usually that element, along with the thrill of watching a driver push the limits that can only be pushed on these tracks that keeps fans coming back for more.
The accident happened when Cowherd and Shawn Davidson, who were running sixth and seventh at the time, became entangled with one another. Davidson’s truck hit the outside wall, where it caught fire instantly, while Cowherd’s truck slammed into the infield wall.
Davidson climbed out of his truck on his own power, and collapsed on the track.
Cowherd, who needed to be removed from his truck, would not be so lucky, and he would be pronounced dead an hour later.
The noise that came from the initial impact was enough to make your skin crawl, and it was one the worst silent, but deadly booms that was heard around the track.
The accident sent what was left of the crowd of 5,254 into a stunned silence, as the remaining 42 laps of the race were canceled.
Death is one of the most unexplainable, unpredictable, and one the biggest unknown mysteries that we will never get an answer to. Death doesn’t play favorites, has no feelings, and has no concept of age, gender, or nationality.
Death can strike at any time, and it usually strikes within a moment’s notice. Death has no remorse as far as who is next on the list, and it will continue to be one of the biggest mysteries known to man because of its element of surprise.
While driving home that night, I looked over at my 16-year-old daughter, and thought back to how uncertain and how surreal our lives really are.
The hardest part was explaining to her that, in the twinkling of an eye, it could all come to an abrupt halt, just as it had done a couple of hours earlier.
Death came down and took the life of a husband, father, son, and a fellow race car driver. And whatever death’s claim to fame is, that fame came with a lot of pain, grief, and of course the biggest unanswered question, “Why him?”
NASCAR racing will continue to bring us fans the element of surprise, and with each surprise will also be the dangers that go along with it.
Each and every driver knows beforehand that death can come knocking on his or her door at anytime, and it will continue to have its way as long as there are those who choose to challenge it.
But even then, how many times have you actually thought about the families whose loved ones are out there risking their lives for our enjoyment?
A life that is so precious to those around them, but yet they put it all behind to seek out one of life’s many challenges.
Keith Cowherd was one of those who chose to take on that challenge, but unfortunately he paid the ultimate the price.
R.I.P. Keith Cowherd, and the rest of the drivers who also chose the same route while paying the same price.
Jeff Gordon and Ingrid Vandebosch Give Birth To NASCAR’s Next Superstar
Congratulations are in order for Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Dupont sponsored Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and his wife Ingrid Vandebosch on the birth of their son Leo Benjamin.
Gordon’s second child from Vandebosch weighed in at seven pounds, two ounces.
Leo Benjamin entered the world at 8:53 a.m. ET, and is 19 inches long.
Gordon became the fifth NASCAR driver to have a baby this season, and the other four were his teammate Jimmie Johnson, Roush Fenway driver Carl Edwards, Richard Petty Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler, and this past weekend’s winner Juan Montoya who drives for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.
“He’s happy and healthy, and Mom is doing great,” said Gordon who will still participate in this weekend’s race at Michigan Speedway.
Gordon who finished 10th this past weekend at Watkins Glen International Speedway, is sitting second in points behind Richard Childress driver Kevin Harvick.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Answers To Another Poor Season Are Not in the Chase
Time is of the essence with only five races remaining before the Chase begins, and already the fans around the social sites are looking into the future of Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr in his car during last weekend’s Sprint Cup Series events at Watkins Glen. Earnhardt is currently 16th in points, trailing the 12th place cutoff by 121 points. (Russell LaBounty/Autostock)
Current Driver Points
| Pos | Driver | Points | Chase |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 3210 | +579 |
| 2 | Jeff Gordon | 3025 | +394 |
| 3 | Jeff Burton | 2895 | +264 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | 2892 | +261 |
| 5 | Jimmie Johnson | 2882 | +251 |
| 6 | Denny Hamlin | 2872 | +241 |
| 7 | Kyle Busch | 2866 | +235 |
| 8 | Tony Stewart | 2865 | +234 |
| 9 | Carl Edwards | 2821 | +190 |
| 10 | Matt Kenseth | 2806 | +175 |
| 11 | Greg Biffle | 2743 | +112 |
| 12 | Mark Martin | 2641 | +10 |
| 13 | Clint Bowyer | 2631 | -10 |
| 14 | Ryan Newman | 2558 | -83 |
| 15 | Jamie McMurray | 2547 | -94 |
| 16 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 2520 | -121 |
| 17 | Kasey Kahne | 2508 | -133 |
| 18 | David Reutimann | 2475 | -166 |
| 19 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 2436 | -205 |
| 20 | Martin Truex Jr. | 2401 | -240 |
With plenty of time still left on his contract, the consensus is that maybe a changing of the guard is what’s needed to put NASCAR’s most popular driver back into victory lane.
The fans, along with anyone else who has taken an interest trying to dissect what is happening with Earnhardt, have come up with some pretty good explanations as to why he is having so much trouble trying to get win No. 19.
It’s not so bad when a driver consistently has bad finishes and has never shown any promise while racing in NASCAR’s premier series.
However, if that same driver, at one time, was considered a top contender, while proving along the way he has the tools to someday become a champion, then it becomes more noticeable when he strings along three or four seasons of less than mediocre stats. His fans try to play it off as another bad year while telling those who will listen that he is a race or two away from breaking out of a phantom slump.
There will always be those who will either show some compassion for what he is going through, and just like a double edged sword where the sharpest edge is the one that does the most damage, which come in the form of the harsh comments from the nay-sayers.
Something is definitely wrong when he begins faltering during his prime, and it doesn’t take much to sit back and begin to wonder where did things go wrong.
The answers are not blowing by him and his crew chief Lance McGrew like the wind, where with one breath they can be taken in, but instead they are much deeper and, so far, each week they become more and more visible as the season slowly comes to a close.
The average race fan is looking for some sort of quick fix with a magical pre-manufactured solution which even in this day and age is not part of a normal way of thinking.
Now in keeping with his current situation, the answer will not be found in the, “What if” scenarios, nor will they be found if indeed he does make the chase.
When Earnhardt last made the chase in 2008, he finished 557 points behind eventual Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, and 57 points behind 11th place finisher Matt Kenseth who went without a win.
The last time Dale Earnhardt Jr. made the chase was in 2008. He finished 12th in the final Sprint Cup Series points that year. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images)
What good would it be to make the chase, if you cant be competitive once you finally make it?
There is no added glory in finishing 12th compared to maybe finishing 13th other then the fact that he made the chase.
Looking at Earnhardt’s season from a sensible perspective, the team does not have some magical solution which they can go to in times of need.
Instead, when the sun looks as if it is getting ready to shine down on them, a black cloud quickly covers the rays of hope and once again they are left in the dark.
Whatever direction the team takes from this point on, realistically speaking, the chase should be the farthest thing from their minds, and their No. 1 priority should be to work on more consistent finishes.
Sugar coating is no longer an option, and neither are all the hypothetical scenarios that are written each time Earnhardt finishes outside the top-10.
What Earnhardt really needs will not be found at Richard Childress Racing, nor will it be found at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.
Instead the only place it can be found is when NASCAR’s most popular driver makes the decision to dig deep within himself, just as he did when he first began driving full-time in the series back in 2000.
NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. Continues Down The Path Of Uncertainty
Time is running short, with only six races remaining until the chase for the Sprint Cup Championship is set to begin.
For the 12 drivers who will get their chance to do battle for NASCAR’s biggest prize, also comes the satisfaction of knowing they weren’t chosen but instead they earned the right to represent their respective teams during this crucial time of the season.
Each season, there are always a handful of drivers whom the fans have supported, and for one reason or another, they will be on the list of those who will be on the outside looking in.
For Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., the time has come once again where he finds himself in a familiar position, while having to fight back from a 93 point deficit in order to get himself into the post season party.
Earnhardt who will roll off 20th for this Sundays Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500, unlike when he last raced this chassis at Pocono in June where he notched a 19th-place finish after qualifying third.
Crew chief Lance McGrew and the No. 88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-584.
Earnhardt picked up the pole position at Atlanta Motor Speedway and went on to score a 15th-place finish with this chassis in March.
Pocono has not been one of Earnhardt’s favorite tracks, and in 21 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway, he has only recorded one pole position, five top-five finishes and six top-10s.
“I think the difference between a good finish and a bad finish at Pocono is getting the car to turn through the center and really being able to get down into Turn one.”
The car wants to go straight into that corner so bad,” said Earnhardt who will be making Sprint Cup start No. 384 on Sunday.
Earnhardt attributed some of his misfortunes to “getting comfortable enough to be able to be fast through the tunnel (Turn 2) all day long is important.”
Earnhardt also added that, “The corners are so different it’s so easy to try to improve one thing and just screw up something that wasn’t even a problem.”
So when we’ve run good, we’ve had awesome race cars. Hopefully we’ll have another one.”
Next Sunday at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Earnhardt is scheduled to make his 500th career NASCAR start.
The 35-year old driver made his first NASCAR start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series on June 22, 1996, at Myrtle Beach Speedway and has amassed 115 starts since then.
Even with all those starts, Earnhardt, at times still doesn’t look comfortable behind the wheel. Whether it all began after his father died, or when he left the confines of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated to find a better lifestyle with Hendrick Motorsports.
Earnhardt at times is still lacking a sense of security which he mentioned when the season first began, and there are those who will agree the move to HMS was not his best choice, and he probably could have done better with another team.
Then there is always the argument that HMS was the best choice for him.
All of that no longer matters, and with only six races left it’s up to Earnhardt to salvage what is left of the 2010 season by walking down the path of certainty, instead of uncertainty.
Up-And-Comer Jonathon Gomez Is a Winner Both On and Off the Track
Some of NASCAR’s best finishes not only occur in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide, or the Camping World Truck Series, but they also take place at the many local tracks, which are usually run on a Saturday night.
Short track racing is where most of the big name drivers such as the Earnhardt’s, Petty’s, Waltrip’s, Allison’s, and a host of others got their first taste of what it’s like to bang and bump their way around these asphalt-covered gladiator rings.
While most of NASCAR’s upper-tier series’ closest finishes are watched over and over again, a lot of times that’s not the case at the local level, since the majority of the races are not televised.
Instead, the finishes are talked about amongst the fans that were in attendance, and they have been known to be the center of conversation for weeks after the race was run.
Last Saturday night, once again the fans were treated to a very exciting finish when Jonathon Gomez of Twin Falls, Idaho, flew in from Portland, Ore., to compete in the Spears SRL Southwest tour series at Toyota Speedway of Irwindale.
Gomez who was practicing for Sundays K&N Pro series race at Portland International Speedway on Saturday morning, barely made it in time to qualify his No. 22 Century Boatland Chevrolet Impala SS in the No. 7 spot for Saturday night’s 100-lap main event.
Gomez, who led 81 of the 100 laps that were run for the night’s main event, left nothing on the table when he and fellow driver Derek Thorn, who took the lead with two laps remaining, drag raced down the front stretch on the final lap, with Gomez taking the win by a mere 0.012 seconds.
“One way or another, I was gonna win, and those were the toughest two laps I ran the whole race,” said Gomez who had an airplane waiting for him to fly back to Portland after his win at the speedway.
Gomez also added that, “I wasn’t gonna lead 81 laps and not win. Derek Thorn is a great competitor, and to race other drivers that hard for that long and to win it means so much to be able to compete in this series.”
“These are top-notch teams and top-notch drivers, and half of these drivers are just as good as the Cup drivers but never got the chance to move into Cup,” said Gomez when asked about the competition level in the series.
The race itself was run on a very warm and humid night, which could have been a factor in all the cautions that transpired throughout the night.
It almost seemed as if Gomez led more laps under caution, then the actual race itself, and the reasoning behind the cautions could have been the drivers qualified with the sun still shining down on the speedway.
“The first five laps after restart it took a while to get going, but once it got going, the car ran great,” said Gomez when talking about the slew of restarts he had to endure throughout the night.
Gomez also added, “We had to be defensive for the first five laps until the car got going. We used up a lot of the car trying to stay ahead of everybody after the restarts.”
Restarts were not the only obstacles Gomez faced on his way to his second victory in the series so far this season. During one of the cautions, NASCAR black-flagged Gomez while he was leading the race.
Gomez explained, “The officials thought I was leaking oil, and brought me in as a safety precaution. They saw I wasn’t leaking any oil and they let me go back out and keep my position.”
Along with the victory, came the feeling of redemption since this was not the first time Gomez has visited the speedway.
Bad luck seemed to plague the 27-year-old driver whenever he raced here at Irwindale, and back in January while participating in the All-Star showdown, he was involved in an accident for the second straight year.
Even though in both instances, his night ended early, not once did Gomez ever complain about his on-track misfortunes.
After Saturday night’s race, I had the chance to talk with his team owner, which also happens to be his father.
Jon Gomez talked about how proud he was of his son, along with how much he has seen him improve in the last couple of years.
He not only talked about his attitude behind the wheel, but also once he finishes a race and the positive attitude that shines while he is around the rest of the team.
With this comment after Gomez’ latest victory, its easy to see why his father spoke so highly of him.
“The team did a great job, and it was a lot fun, and I’m glad to have two wins in the series. My team worked so hard on the car out in the heat; the win means just as much to them as it means to me.”
Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Becoming the Tiger Woods of NASCAR?
Undoubtedly Tiger Woods and Dale Earnhardt Jr., are on the A list of sports most recognizable figures in the world today.
Between the two of them they conjure up the majority of the media buzz, along with grabbing front page headlines anytime they as so much sneeze the wrong way.
It doesn’t take much for either one of these two to light up cyberspace whenever a news worthy story breaks, and the consequences are usually very devastating because of the star power that these two generate.
Woods as most of us already knows, single-handedly set the internet on fire, when over a dozen women claimed in various media outlets that they had affairs with Woods.
After the last of the numbers were finally tallied, in conclusion Woods admitted to having over 120 affairs.
Now whether it was one, 10, or 120 as he claimed, the final outcome is he broke a very sacred bond of trust between wife and husband.
Marriage is not only meant as a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, however it can also be a formal agreement between two people to combine their resources for a mutual benefit.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., team owner of JR Motorsports has taken the vows known as a NASCAR marriage, and allowed various drivers to infiltrate his sacred domain known as a driver’s seat.
The term “NASCAR marriage,” is a bond that a driver and owner build during the span of a current contract, with some having lasted throughout a driver’s entire career.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon, has the longest running active marriage, and not far behind is Roush Fenway driver Matt Kenseth, along with Richard Childress Driver Kevin Harvick.
Earnhardt on the other hand, is still looking for the right driver to complete the bond he feels is necessary to produce winning results for his No. 88 Nationwide series team.
Earnhardt, who fields two cars in the series, already has IRL star Danica Patrick locked into the No. 7, and she does share driving duties while on hiatus from her NASCAR driving commitment.
Earnhardt, who drove the No. 88 during the season opening race at Daytona International Speedway, hired Kelly Bires to take over the season, and before the honeymoon was over, Bires was released after only five races.
Earnhardt Ganassi driver Jamie McMurray, who won the 2010 Daytona 500, was brought in to replace Bires for a reported nine races, but that marriage was also short lived and along came Coleman Pressley for one race.
Earnhardt continued to search for a driver who could bring the team its first win of the season, when along came road course specialist Ron Fellows, who took over the seat in Saturdays Bucyrus 200 at the 14 turn, 4.048 mile Road America road course in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin.
Fellow’s stint in the No. 88 only lasted one race, and this past week JR Motorsports announced that Elliott Sadler would take over for the next 10 races, beginning next week at New Hampshire.
Sponsorship will include Delta Apparel—a leading active wear and headwear manufacturer who agreed to a partnership with JR Motorsports to promote the Realtree Outfitters licensed brand.
“Elliott is a really good buddy of mine, and I’m happy that he has agreed to race our cars on a limited basis this year,” said Earnhardt Jr. after announcing that Sadler would be in the No. 88.
Earnhardt also added that, “By now everybody knows our situation. We are looking for the next full-time replacement for the No. 88, but in the meantime we’ve called upon some proven racers to keep it up front, capture points, and contend for wins.”
So far to date, Earnhardt has broken his vow with nine different drivers, but unlike Woods who broke his vows for his own personal enjoyment, Earnhardt is breaking his to find the right combination which will bring enjoyment to both he and his fans.
Joey Logano Reaches NASCAR Puberty While the Harvick’s Have a Meltdown
Keeping in mind that each one of the drivers spends more time in the garage area and they easily see and hear more than you or I, you have to wonder if the statement from Joe Gibbs driver Joey Logano could merit some sort of validity.
“His wife wears the firesuit in the family and tells him what to do. It’s probably not his fault,” said Logano during a post-race interview.
Logano who was clearly upset with Richard Childress driver Kevin Harvick for once again dumping him for no reason, stepped up to the plate and stood his ground while shedding his little boy image.
No sooner did Logano finish speaking his peace, and the NASCAR boards lit up with praise for the 20-year-old for finally standing up to a driver who has a reputation for dumping others just to gain a spot or two.
Along with the praise came the comments from the fans, saying that Logano’s statement was an insult to Harvick’s wife DeLana.
Now if indeed he insulted her, why didn’t her husband step up to defend her?
How many of you would sit back and let your loved one be insulted in front of not just a few people, but in front of millions of fans?
DeLana could have easily stayed above the fray, but instead she fired back by printing up “I wear the firesuit in the family” t-shirts for sale on her husband’s website—her way of lowering herself to Logano’s standards, especially after she tweeted, “with age comes wisdom & respect… Enough said.”
DeLana claims that a bell went off that led to the printing of the t-shirts, but the only bell that went off was the one Logano rung with his comment.
Don’t think for a second that these shirts were made as a playful gesture, they were made out of spite. She became a very angry person, especially since the shirts were only printed up in women’s sizes.
Instead of being the bigger person and letting it go, she fell hook, line, and sinker for one of the oldest tricks in the book and Logano has every right to pat himself on the back for getting a reaction out of her.
Not only did she react out of spite with her gesture, but she’s put herself out there by attacking a driver, and now she can be considered “one of the boys” which means she is fair game for other drivers to take aim.
When looking back to Sunday’s incident, Harvick could have easily avoided the contact; instead he dumped Logano in the same fashion as he did earlier in the season at Bristol during a Nationwide race.
How quickly one forgets that in order to gain respect, there comes a time when you have to act like a veteran and show the younger drivers the meaning of the word.
Instead he comes out with this comment, while forgetting that he was at one time in Logano’s shoes.
“He just races without giving people any respect and not much room,” Harvick said after Sunday’s race.
“So we just wound up getting together. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it goes.”
While Harvick thought he was teaching Logano the meaning of respect, his actions actually sent a message of hypocritical double standards that exist on the track.
Harvick’s frustration with Logano can almost be traced to his own shortcomings which began last season, when he told his boss Richard Childress that he wanted out of his contract.
Harvick had his future all mapped out thinking he was going to take his long time sponsor Shell/Pennzoil over to Stewart Haas Racing, without first checking to make sure they were all on the same page.
Childress made it clear that Harvick was going nowhere, and he would have to honor the last year of his contract.
At about the same time Harvick was trying to get out of his final year at RCR, Richard Petty Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne was venting his desire to leave the team and do some searching of his own for greener pastures.
With Harvick and Kahne both seeking free agency after the 2010 season, the consensus floating around the sport was which driver would be the bigger commodity once the bidding war started.
Well the war never got started, but instead Shell/Pennzoil announced that it no longer wanted the services of Harvick, which instantly dropped his value to the point that he had no other choice but to take whatever RCR was willing to offer.
In the meantime, Kahne became the big winner when Rick Hendrick almost immediately signed Kahne to a multi-year contract, once he found out RPM would allow him to sign with another team.
Of course this couldn’t have sat too well with Harvick, who not only had to eat his words by resigning with a team he wanted nothing to do with last season, but he also lost a sponsor in the process.
While Logano’s popularity is heading north, stock in Harvick is rapidly moving south, and it’s no wonder there were no rumors floating around last season that teams were inquiring of his services.
Instead, he started his own thinking that Stewart Haas Racing would be knocking down his door trying to get at him, but he ended up right back where he started at RCR while Kahne moved on to greener pastures.
In Sunday’s race, Logano had Harvick beat, which once again didn’t sit too well with him as was the case at Bristol when Harvick used the same line as he did on Sunday. “He kept chopping down on me, and it just worked out the way it did,” Harvick said after his fifth-place finish at Bristol.
Harvick finished it off with his infamous, “I don’t feel like he gave me any room.”
Whatever problem Harvick has with Logano is becoming more and more apparent, especially when he waits for the last lap to dump him.
“It was for fifth place, so I don’t know what he was doing,” said Logano after being dumped by Harvick for the second time this season.
Logano also added that, “It wasn’t for the win. We ran together clean for almost the whole race and then he dumps me on the last lap. I don’t understand what he was thinking.”
Words along with actions can sometimes be taken as a misconstrued notion, but in this case you have to wonder how much truth there is since actions do speak louder words.
Logano only reacted to Harvick’s actions, and it could very well be Harvick hasn’t accepted the fact there is a new breed of younger drivers who are hungry to carry the torch.
With the attention being shifted to the younger drivers such as Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, along with Kasey Kahne, maybe as a friendly gesture Logano could take some time to thank Harvick for helping him become one of the boys.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Back To Serve Another Term As Rumorville Mayor
It all started at the beginning of the 2007 season when Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, driver and son of the legendary team owner, bellowed out this statement to the NASCAR world: “Me and Teresa do not see eye to eye. I wish we did, but we don’t.”
While the rest of the NASCAR world couldn’t help themselves but to think about which team would have the honor of having the sport’s most popular driver in their garage, Earnhardt went on to say that, “I’m sad that I have to leave some employees that I got close to, leave some relationships.”
Earnhardt also added that, “The main factor is the ownership part, and it has nothing to do with money and nothing else. I want majority ownership, basically.”
From that day on, until Earnhardt finally made the decision to jump aboard the Hendrick Motorsports train wreck, the newly inaugurated mayor of rumorville was officially sworn in by none other than Darrell Waltrip.
It was Waltrip who tossed the first rumor into the soon to be out of control mixing bowl, when he just about put Earnhardt into a seat at Richard Childress Racing.
“I’ve always thought RCR just because of the Childress-Earnhardt relationship,” said Waltrip of Richard Childress Racing, where the elder Earnhardt won six of his seven championships.
Waltrip also added that, “I personally have always thought the racing world would be right if Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove the black No. 3 car.”
This was only the beginning, and before long the bowl quickly picked up speed and was out of control with Earnhardt having to ride this uncontrollable wave of emotion all on his own.
The rumors poured in on Earnhardt’s behalf, and it didn’t take long to notice that the mayor himself was beginning to feel the effects—especially once he found out he would not be bringing the number that meant so much to him along for the ride.
Now not only did he have to contend with where he would begin his new life, but which number, along with who his new sponsor would be, since he also found out that Budweiser would not be part of his new surroundings.
Earnhardt’s fans spent the better part of the year tossing rumor after rumor into the mixing bowl, and it wasn’t until Earnhardt made his first official start with his newly found family that the rumors were finally put to the rest.
Once the 2008 season began, Earnhardt probably thought he would never be put through such turmoil again, but unfortunately he was wrong and the mixing bowl was brought back to life, and he has once again found himself back in the familiar position of the mayor of rumorville.
Whether he is unhappy, having bad finishes, or doesn’t like his current surroundings, the bottom line is all of these issues are keeping him in the media forefront, and it’s amazing at how many of the fans are playing along with trying to figure what his next move will be.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. driver of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet has to be just as dumbfounded as the rest of the NASCAR community, especially when none of what is going theoretically concerns him.
This is supposed to be about Kasey Kahne, and not once has Earnhardt or Rick Hendrick ever mentioned Earnhardt’s name about a possible move.
As a matter of fact, not even Hendrick himself has indicated where Kahne will end up, and its ironic how quickly the focus went from where Kahne will be driving next season, to where Earnhardt might end up.
Some of the most popular rumors have him going back to DEI, or to RCR where he will be united with his father’s old boss.
How many drivers have gotten this much attention when the chips are down?
How many drivers can have this type of season, and still know they will be the No. 1 driver talked about week after week?
All that doesn’t matter, because now it’s become more of a guessing game which we all love playing.
What makes all of this even more mysterious, is Earnhardt hasn’t said anything about leaving HMS, and Darrell Waltrip once again threw his opinion into the mix.
“If I was a team owner and my team was struggling, I’d make changes until I found someone that could make it work, what do you have to lose?”
Danica Patrick Showing She is Still Not Ready To Run with the Big Boys
Once the foundation begins to crumble, it’s just a matter of time before the rest of the building comes crashing down.
You can call them words of wisdom, or you can take it for whatever it’s worth and move on.
Either way the consequences are always going to be there, waiting in the midst for just the right time to come out and strike that person dead.
Danica Patrick, who drives the Andretti Autosport Honda GoDaddy.com-sponsored IRL car, has been the poster girl ever since she first entered the series back in 2005.
Patrick, who built her career by overshadowing her less than skillful driving abilities by posing for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, literally threw her team under the bus during qualifying for next weekends Indianapolis 500.
Patrick, who was close to tears after qualifying 23rd, was heard over the public-address system saying that, “This is the worst car I’ve ever had. There’s no stability or grip. It’s just scary, really scary…It’s awful, really awful. I think I’m still shaking.”
Patrick went on to say that, “I wasn’t flat out the last two laps and I was scared to death flat on the first two. I’ve never been bad here before. I’ve never been outside the top 10 on a finish or qualifying, so, it’s not my fault. The car is not good.”
Right after her comments were broadcast, the fans began expressing their disapproval by booing her because of her displeasure with the team.
For some reason she still thinks she is invincible, and as a driver what she said about her team was wrong, plain and simple.
Is it really that hard for her to take the blame once in a while, instead of telling her team once again that it’s not her fault?
The fans will only put up with so much of a driver’s overzealous attitude, before they move on to one who will put some victories in the win column.
The IRL is full of drivers who have a lot more talent, along with the skills to make them championship contenders.
Good looks will only get a driver so far, and from the way the fans treated Patrick this past weekend they may have grown tired of her less than stellar performances.
“I say one confident thing out there, that it’s not me, and everybody boos me,” said Patrick after hearing the displeasure from the fans. “I don’t know, maybe they were booing me before, but some of them were probably cheering for me before.”
There is no more sugar coating the truth about her so-called driving skills, especially when all she did was complain early in the season about her dislike for the road courses.
So far this season she only has one top-10 in five races while leading zero laps, and is sitting 16th in points out of 29 drivers.
Come to think about it, Patrick has yet to prove she can handle a car she has been racing for the past six years, and within that time frame she has run 13,868 laps which equals 86 races, and she has only led 110 laps to go along with one win, 16 top-five, and 47 top-10 finishes.
Someone also needs to tell her that race car drivers don’t cry, especially ones that like to bully other drivers around unless of course their foundation is beginning to soften and crumble.
The novelty of having Patrick race in the IRL has already begun to wear off, and all you have to do is look at the television ratings along with the empty stands even though she has one victory since coming into the series.
Not even that one victory is enough to classify her as championship material, and the only thing she has going for her is the half dressed commercials she does for her sponsor GoDaddy.com.
Patrick said last week, that she isn’t about to place blame on her part-time gig for the problems she is having in the IRL, while driving in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports.
Patrick is far from being considered a threat to finish in the top-10 of any race, so why would she even go there with that comment?
The schedule that was chosen should have been the first indication that not even Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew she would be able to compete at this level, and the reason he hired her was he needed a sponsor.
Just how much of an impact she will have after her short IRL vacation, probably won’t be as big as when she first entered the series.
Sooner more than later her novelty will wear off if she doesn’t produce decent finishes, and when looking back at her results before she left her chances are almost non-existent.
Patrick needs to make up her mind if she wants to drive stock cars or open wheel cars, and with her going back and forth it is doing nothing but giving the fans more reasons to believe she is only doing this to keep herself in the public eye.
Even if you combine the two series she races in, not even the numbers match up to anything but a mediocre driver at best.
Danica is far from racing with some of NASCAR’s finest, but then again who are we to pass judgment on a driver who has one victory on her resume?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Has To Be Wondering If the Jump To HMS Was a Bad Move
Just when the season begins to show signs of optimism, strange things begin to happen as if the racing gods have put some sort of voodoo spell on him.
Does Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard HMS Chevrolet, need to have an exorcism performed before each race, to help him and his team get through the calamity they have been experiencing?
Another race has gone by, and with that race came another disgusting finish, which is beginning to sound like the same old song and dance.
Earnhardt thought something in his steering had broken, but after spending seven laps on pit road, nothing was found wrong with the car.
By day’s end Earnhardt and the No. 88 team would finish the race 10 laps down in 30th place, with fingers once again being pointed at the driver along with the crew chief.
The weekend started out just as badly as it ended, and that’s when the frustration really began to take its toll on NASCAR’s most popular driver.
After Fridays practice session, Earnhardt was once again not happy with the car the team unloaded, and promptly expressed his feelings about chassis No. 88-578.
“I just get pissed when my stuff isn’t good, you know,” said Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt also added that, “Hell, it’s what you are supposed to do, you aren’t supposed to be happy about it.”
You have to wonder how much more of this can Earnhardt endure, before he really takes his frustration over the top and explodes.
It’s hard enough when you are the sport’s most popular driver and you aren’t living up to your fans’ expectations, or the expectations that as a driver you put upon yourself.
Then you throw in the fact that this team has the best equipment in the series, and it’s easy to see how the tension can very easily become unbearable.
Earnhardt has never been the same since coming to the glorified garages of Hendrick Motorsports, and you have to wonder what it is that keeps plaguing this team week after week.
You hear the stories that HMS is not giving Earnhardt the same equipment that Gordon and Johnson have inside their garages, and after watching the team struggle week after week, maybe some of what these fans are saying is true?
Early in his career he did have his problems, but nothing like what he is going through today.
How does a driver run up front and at the same time show signs that he just might take over the star status from Gordon and Johnson, and then all of a sudden it’s like the rug is being pulled from underneath him?
Logic tells us that Hendrick would want Earnhardt in victory lane as often as possible, but then there is always the flip side that Hendrick knows either way he will make money off him, and the last thing he wants is to have Gordon or Johnson upset?
Hendrick has the best marketing team in the series, in addition to knowing that a driver such as Earnhardt doesn’t need to win in order to continue to be in the spotlight.
Johnson is a good example and it’s being proven as we speak, with the spotlight still on him even though he hasn’t won in the last six races.
Earnhardt’s first season with HMS looked very promising, after he came out strong with victories in the Bud Shootout, and also in the first Gatorade duel.
Earnhardt was also the highest finishing HMS driver with a ninth-place finish in the 2008 Daytona 500, along with finishing strong second to Carl Edwards at Las Vegas that same year.
Halfway through the season, Earnhardt had already picked up one victory, seven top five, and 12 top 10 finishes while sitting comfortably in second place in the point standings.
Earnhardt had a 185-point lead over his teammate Johnson, and a 255-point lead over Gordon, before disaster struck and all he could manage was three top-10 finishes in the next 18 races.
Earnhardt would eventually finish out the 2008 season 13th in points, and in 2009 he hit rock bottom when he failed to make the chase while finishing 25th in points, with a mere two top-five’s, and five top-10 finishes.
With all of these inconsistent finishes, you have to sit back and wonder if there is something mysterious going on behind closed doors, and they are not letting Earnhardt in on it.
This is no conspiracy theory, but take a good long look at what is really happening and something just doesn’t add up.
Whatever it is, it’s almost a guarantee that Earnhardt will not make the chase again this season, and it will not be because he is lacking the driving skills to put himself in.
It takes not only a driver, but also a good crew chief to guide his driver into victory lane, and let’s not forget it also takes the equipment that HMS is known for.
Somewhere between those three, there is a piece of the puzzle missing that is keeping the team from producing better finishes.
That piece of the puzzle is probably hidden in a place that only Rick Hendrick knows where to find it.
When and where he will give that piece up is anybody’s guess, but it’s almost guaranteed it won’t be anytime soon.
When Earnhardt first made the decision to jump into an HMS car, it looked like he found a team that would suit the way he drove.
Just because it looks good from the outside, doesn’t always mean it will work out or that it was the best decision at the time.
There are those who will agree that this was not his best choice, and he probably could have done better with another team, and of course there are those who will continue to argue that HMS was the best choice for him.
All of that no longer matters, because Earnhardt is locked until the 2013 season, and there is no way Hendrick will allow his marketing magnet to find employment elsewhere.
Money to an owner such as Hendrick has the same value as being able to control the circumstances around him, especially when he already has more than what he can spend in this lifetime.
His power comes from how much overall influence he has on the sport, and that is the one reason’s he signed Earnhardt and most recently Kasey Kahne.
Keep a close eye on what happens in the months to come, and which car Kasey Kahne ends up driving next season.
There was a great lesson that was missed by the circumstances that led up to the firing of Kyle Busch, in order to make sure he put Dale Earnhardt Jr. in one his race cars, but more importantly the spotlight on HMS.
Breaking News! Kevin Harvick Going to Mark Martin Racing In 2011 (Humor)
SATIRE — After crossing the finish line a mere 0.011 seconds in front of Earnhardt Ganassi driver Jaime McMurray, Kevin Harvick driver of the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Richard Childress Chevrolet, was treated to more good news after breaking his 115-race winless streak in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Harvick, who had just found out a few days earlier that he would be losing his sponsor for the 2011 season, was approached by Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin after the win with an offer to drive for the team which he will start up after the 2010 season comes to an end.
Martin has made it clear that he will retire after his contract with Hendrick Motorsports expires at the end of the 2011 season, and his lifelong dream had been to someday own a Sprint cup team.
During a news conference on Friday at the speedway, Rick Hendrick admitted he was intrigued by the fact that Martin recently mentioned he might ultimately be interested in owning his own race team.
Hendrick added that he would be willing to assist Martin in that endeavor, and with the announcement by James Finch that he was putting his Phoenix Racing operation up for sale, Martin couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
Martin along with Hendricks’s assistance will be purchasing a 70,000 sq. ft. building complete with 35 race cars, all the machinery and two houses on nine acres in Spartanburg, S.C.
After inking the deal with Martin and Hendrick, Finch commented that, “It’s time to do something else. They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and I just don’t want to go broke trying to outrun the manufacturers—whether that’s Jack Roush, Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs, or Roger Penske.”
Martin said he never expected for Hendrick to respond to Finch’s offer this quickly, but seeing that Finch was already getting his equipment from HMS it made perfect sense.
“All of this happening a little to fast for me, and I figured it would take at least a year or two to put something together,” said Martin after finding out that he will be a team owner a lot sooner than expected.
Martin also added that, “Rick has been really supportive of me since I first came over in 2009.
“He has treated me like a son, and I never expected him to say he would be willing to help me get my team started.”
“Mark has been a very valuable asset to the team as well as a positive role model, which is what I expect out of all my drivers as well as my employees,” said Hendrick during the afternoon news press conference.
Hendrick also added this when talking about the type of owner Martin will make. “Mark is a very well-respected driver around the garages, as well as the communities that the series visits.
“These traits are not easily found, and because of them I don’t see Mark having any problems drawing fans to his team.”
Harvick made it clear last season that he wanted out of his contract with RCR, stating that RCR was not headed in the direction that he would have liked them to, which in turn would have hindered his chances at winning a championship.
As of late, Harvick seemed to have a change of heart after hearing that Richard Petty Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne, had signed a five-year contract with Hendrick Motorsports.
Harvick had to be feeling that to some degree his options were not as widespread as he thought they were, when he confessed on Friday that his future would most likely continue with RCR.
“Richard Childress and myself have a great relationship, and we’ve been talking about a lot of things for several months,” Harvick said.
Harvick also added, “The cars are running well, everybody is communicating well, and I don’t know what else to say other than Richard and I have had many, many, many, many, many, many, many conversations over the last several months.”
“My intentions were to never hire him back, with most of the reasoning coming from all the negativity he has been showing towards the team the last couple of years,” said Childress when told that Harvick is no longer available.
Childress also mentioned he was not happy with the way Harvick made it known at towards the end of last season, that he no longer wanted to be part of the team.
“Kevin never once approached me about wanting to leave the team, until the story leaked that he was not happy here at RCR,” said Childress.
Childress added this when asked about the way Harvick handled last year’s decision to leave the team: “I was also waiting until the end of the 2010 season, and at the last minute was going to let him know through the media that his services were no longer needed.”
Harvick will no longer have to worry about trying to mend a bad relationship with RCR, since he knows where he will be in 2011.
Martin did not mention who Harvick’s sponsor will be nor did he mention what number he will be driving, but he did say his new crew chief would be Tony Eury Jr. who Hendrick was throwing in as a retirement present.
Martin did say that another driver possibility could be Jamie McMurray, who only signed a one-year deal to drive for Earnhardt Ganassi.
Team owner Jack Roush of Roush Fenway Racing, was asked about his nemesis Rick Hendrick being allowed to field three teams with seven different drivers (Hendrick Motorsports, Stewart Haas Racing, and Mark Martin Racing), when he was told that he could only have a four car stable?
“So?” was Roush’s reply.
With Kasey Kahne Signed Thru 2015 , Where Does That Leave Kevin Harvick?
Last week, a blockbuster announcement was made. Richard Petty Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne will be leaving the team after the 2010 season to join forces with Hendrick Motorsports in 2011.
HMS team owner Rick Hendrick, who takes great pride in knowing he is the most powerful dignitary in the sport today, left out one important detail during the press conference, which could have put an end to all the speculating which car Kahne will be driving in 2011.
Instead, Hendrick dodged the question by saying that he is the one responsible for Kahne’s ride in 2011, and until that million dollar question is answered, all eyes and ears will continue to be focused on him, which is exactly where he wants them.
In the meantime, many of the fans have put Stewart Haas’ racing at the top of the list, even though Stewart has made it clear he knows of no such arrangement.
“You guys need to talk to Kasey because we don’t know anything about it,” said Stewart when he first heard that his team was mentioned as a possibility.
Stewart also added that,
“If the right sponsor and right driver were to come along, we would consider a third team. But we’ve said that all along.”
Now once again, Stewart is not saying whether Kahne will or will not end up driving for his team next season, but one thing is for sure: Kahne will drive a car next season that in some way has ties to HMS.
The move by Hendrick to sign Kahne so early in the season only tells a small story of how much he was sought after. His overall appeal goes a long way to attract the attention of NASCAR’s most influential owner.
It was no big secret to begin with that Kahne no longer wanted to be part of the RPM family, along with Richard Childress driver Kevin Harvick, who also expressed his desire to leave the confines of his team and seek employment elsewhere.
So now that Kahne is penciled in for the next five years with NASCAR’s most prolific team, the next big move on the horizon is what will Kevin Harvick decide to do once his contract expires at the end of the season?
Since there is obviously no more room at HMS, that easily leaves out them out as a possibility for Harvick to find refuge at.
One of the bigger moves being speculated by the fans was that Harvick, along with his sponsor Shell/Pennzoil, would find a nice resting place at Stewart Haas racing for either the 2010 season if RCR would have allowed him to leave, or the following year in 2011 once his contract expired.
There was story after story written about how faithful and committed Harvick’s sponsors were to him, even though he hasn’t won a race in over three years with his last win coming in 2007 during the season opening Daytona 500.
Now with the announcement that his sponsor Shell/Pennzoil will be leaving at the end of the season, what type of bargaining power does he have, especially when you look at his mediocre career since coming into the season in 2001?
Stewart has made it clear that only if the right sponsor and driver came along he would consider a third team, which would technically leave Harvick on the outside looking in, since he no longer has a sponsor.
With only 11 wins while in his 10th season racing in the Sprint cup series, along with a 115 race win-less streak, it’s easy to see why Hendrick overlooked him as a possibility to fill Martin’s seat once he retires.
Or maybe Rick took offense when Harvick said that his star driver has a golden horseshoe stuck up his rear-end, while referring to the luck that the No. 48 team has.
If anything, it is now Harvick who probably wishes he had that horseshoe instead of Johnson, because from the looks of things he is not in a very good position especially with no sponsor to rally round him when it comes time to negotiate a contract.
Either way when HMS signed Kahne to his multi-year deal without giving any details of who he will be driving for in 2011, Hendrick single handedly closed the door on Harvick picking up a ride with the HMS logo anywhere on it.
Harvick will no longer be appealing with his bright red and yellow driver suit, but instead he will have to negotiate on just his name alone, which sorry to say only worsens his current situation.
His stats along with his on-track performance clearly show that he is not a championship contender in the Sprint cup series, even though he is a two-time Nationwide champion.
Owners today are looking for drivers who can bring sponsorship, or at least be appealing enough to attract one, and maybe this is a sign that Harvick should reconsider what RCR has to offer before they too recant their offer.
Now looking at the overall picture, RCR is not that bad of a team to drive for especially when Harvick just lost his one and only bargaining chip.
Rick Hendrick Proves Once Again That He Is the One Running the Show
The news that just shook the NASCAR world couldn’t have come at a better time.
Just when NASCAR fans were beginning to think that our beloved sport was headed down a path to destruction, up jumps Rick Hendrick to take control of the situation just as he did when he signed NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. back in 2007.
Hendrick not only lives for these types of moments, but he also relishes in the fact that now he can safely say he has become NASCAR’s most powerful force, since asphalt was brought into the series many moons ago.
When you sit back and think for a moment, isn’t this the same team owner who has NASCAR’s most controversial crew chief on his payroll? Along with a driver that the more he wins, the more he is disliked which goes against the laws of common reasoning.
How many teams have a driver that can draw the crowds in by the hundreds of thousands, without making it into victory lane? Look at the rest of team, and what you find is a 51 year old veteran who doesn’t know what the phrase, ‘To grow old’ means.
Of course we can’t forget the other driver who is still searching for championship number five, even though he already has his place in the Hall of Fame whenever he decides to retire and is eligible.
This prominent group of drivers that Hendrick has under contract is what dreams are made of, and there is not one team owner who wouldn’t mind having each one them kicking back in his garage area.
What Hendrick has managed to do once again, is breathe some much needed life back into the series when it seemed that death was knocking on its door.
Without saying a word, Hendrick gave the fans something to talk about other than the negativity that has been floating around about his four-time champion, along with NASCAR’s most popular driver since the beginning of the season.
When the story got jump started into high gear with Tuesday’s news that Richard Petty Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne, was headed through the golden garage doors of Hendrick Motorsports, there he was back in the limelight again.
After reading mixed reactions that Kahne would not be coming over to HMS until 2012, all the way to whom will Kahne replace once he does get there.
Hendrick always finds a way to keep all the headlines to himself, and just as recently as last season he dangled the signing of IRL star Danica Patrick, for two months before making the official announcement.
For 45 minutes on Wednesday during a Hendrick Motorsports teleconference, Rick Hendrick methodically answered question after question pertaining to the story that Kahne was indeed a part of the Hendrick family.
The questions got deeper with who would be his sponsor, as well as would he bring his crew chief Kenny Francis along with him from RPM.
As the time dragged on and Hendrick continued to avoid answering the meaningful questions, it was clear to see that he was not going to budge as he dictated the whole conference to his liking.
So why have a teleconference if the only good piece of information that he shared was, Kasey Kahne did sign a contract with HMS for the 2011 season, and he would be driving a Chevy next season?
Because the most powerful man in NASCAR loves to avoid the obvious. Whether there is no room at the inn as he so eloquently put it before he eventually signed Dale Earnhardt Jr., or is this Rick Hendrick once again dangling the bait just enough to tease us.
Hendrick knows that all of NASCAR’s eyes are upon him, and as it stands he holds the keys to the sports biggest mystery.
Where will Kasey Kahne end up in 2011, since 2012 is already spoken for? I guess all we can do is wait even though Hendrick did say an announcement could come as soon as 90 days, but even he said don’t hold him to it.
Kasey Kahne Signs Contract To Drive For Hendrick Motorsports In 2011
Sources close to ESPN have confirmed that Kasey Kahne, driver of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Budweiser Ford, who would have undeniably been the hottest free agent coming out of the 2010 season, has signed a multi-year deal to drive for Hendrick Motorsports.
The negotiations, which are still ongoing, would put Kahne into an HMS race car by the beginning of the 2011 season.
Sources close to ESPN have said that a decision on whose ride Kahne will take over has not been released, along with who his sponsor will be, if in fact Budweiser does not follow him in 2011.
As far as the current contract situation stands at HMS, the only realistic choice would be for Kahne to take over the No.5 car which is currently being driven by Mark Martin.
Since Martin’s contract will be the first to expire after the 2011 season, HMS would probably give Martin a release from his final year the same way they let Kyle Busch go after the 2007 season.
It was also speculated that Kahne could possibly drive a third car for Stewart Haas racing in 2011, which is considered an HMS satellite team, in anticipation of Martin retiring after the 2011 season which would put Kahne in the No. 5 after Martins retirement.
Busch who said at the time that he never felt he was pushed out after HMS learned that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was leaving DEI after the 2007, had this to say when his negotiations took a turn for the worse.
“Then Junior announced his availability and then that’s where we kind of stalled out again,” said Busch.
Busch also added that, “I’m not stupid. You guys aren’t stupid. It’s kind of common sense, I guess?”
Kahne, who is in his final year of his contract at RPM, has made it clear since last season that he wanted out of his contract, and with today’s news it is clear that he will no longer have that lingering over his head.
Kahne will finish out the rest of the 2010 season with RPM. Comments from HMS, or Kahne have yet to be released as of this time. RPM did release this statement earlier confirming that Kahne will be leaving the team.
“Kasey is a very talented driver and I have enjoyed watching him race. We all wish him nothing but the best and hope he succeeds in anything he chooses to do,” said team owner Richard Petty.
“Drivers like Kasey Kahne are the very reason we got into this sport. Kasey has helped us get to where we are today,” said George Gillett, owner of Richard Petty Motorsports.
Special Thanks To ESPN for Content.
